Eddison & Ortis [2023] FedCFamC2F 1141

Eddison & Ortis [2023] FedCFamC2F 1141: Case Study

Relationship Details

• Type: Marriage
• Court: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), Judge O'Shannessy, 31 August 2023
• Duration: The parties began a relationship in 1974, and married and began cohabiting in 1979. They separated in 2018, when the husband was convicted and imprisoned.
• Total Duration: 39 years.
• Ages at Final Hearing: Wife - 63 years, Husband - 65 years.

Children

• Children from Relationship: Two children, both now adults.

Initial Financial Positions

• Wife:

  • No significant assets at start.

• Husband:

  • A member of the military, with no significant assets.

Contributions During the Relationship

• Financial Contributions:

  • The husband was the main income earner while the children were younger, from military pay, followed by superannuation and disability pensions.
  • The wife worked for various employers, then part time from 2005 and later full time and part time in an allied health care role. She also received an inheritance of about $25,000 from her mother's estate, used for living expenses.
  • The parties bought their first home in 2000.

• Non-financial Contributions:

  • The wife primarily engaged in home duties and volunteering while the children were young.
  • Care of the children by both parties with the wife taking a leading role in parenting and household duties.

Post-Separation Contributions and Actions

• Financial Contributions:

  • The wife resumed the mortgage repayments on the two home loans and a personal loan after the husband was imprisoned.
  • Amounts raised through sales of joint assets (a garage sale, a car and a boat) were used for renovations, mortgage payments and living expenses.

• Non-financial Contributions:

  • The wife organised and prepared the family home for sale while the husband was in prison. The home sold in late 2018 for $350,000.

• Dissipation of Assets:

  • The court was not satisfied that any funds had been wasted or hidden; the money received over the marriage was applied for the family.

Current Financial Position & Property Pool

• Income and Benefits:

  • Wife: Carer payments from Centrelink and DVA for the care of her new partner.
  • Husband: Payments from his Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme (DFRDB) pension and a DVA disability pension.

• Assets and Debts:

  • Non-superannuation assets total: $349,899, including the wife's small equity in a home bought after separation with her new partner.
  • Superannuation: The husband's DFRDB pension, valued at $253,000. The parties agreed to a payment split of 31% to the wife.
  • House sale proceeds held on trust total: about $181,000 including interest.

Assessment of Contributions and Future Needs

• Contributions:

  • Contributions were equal over the long relationship. Because the husband did not contribute to the equity the wife acquired after separation with her new partner, and to acknowledge her inheritance, contributions to the non-superannuation assets were assessed at 46/54 in the wife's favour.

• Future Needs Adjustments:

  • 4% adjustment in non-superannuation assets in the wife's favour (about $13,996), due to her age, health, caring responsibilities, and because the husband's pension income was greater.

• Final Division:

  • Superannuation (pension) split: 69/31 in the husband's favour, as agreed.
  • Non-superannuation assets: 42/58 division in the wife's favour. As the husband already held $136,000, he received $10,958 (plus a share of the interest) from the funds held on trust, and the wife the balance.

Unique Aspects

• The husband's conviction and imprisonment affected the separation and the handling of the property, though the court noted that s 79 does not impose a moral judgment or punishment.
• The wife took on the management of the property after separation in very difficult circumstances, and the court was unable to criticise how she managed and conserved it.
• The wife's new partner and the home bought with that partner affected her housing and financial position after separation.

Summary

• The court found a just and equitable division considering the long marriage and the parties' intertwined finances, with the wife retaining a greater share of the non-superannuation assets due to her contributions after separation, her inheritance and her needs.

The law since this decision

This case was decided before 10 June 2025. From that date the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) sets out the steps for a property settlement in s 79(3) to (5), and the court must consider the effect of family violence on each party's contributions (s 79(4)(ca)) and on their current and future circumstances (s 79(5)(a)), and any material wastage of property (s 79(5)(d)). In Western Australia, a property case between married couples is decided under that Act in the Family Court of Western Australia. A case between de facto partners in Western Australia is decided under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA), which has not adopted those 2025 changes.